Warriors: The Burning Dawn
by flamewind123456
Summary: Flamepaw is an apprentice in DawnClan. One day, he receives a vision. "Dawn and Dawn will join again. They will find the Third, and light the Fire for the Stars." Rated "T" for action and violence. First installment in Fire For The Stars trilogy (FFTS).
1. Disclaimer and Dedication

DISCLAIMER:

I DO NOT OWN WARRIORS

THIS IS A WORK OF FANFICTION

THE WARRIORS NAME AND LOGO ARE OWNED BY THE ERIN HUNTERS

To Emily-Rose, my mentor, who introduced me to the world of WARRIORS

To Ian and Levi, for their (mostly) unfailing support


	2. Allegiances

**Allegiances:**

 _ **DawnClan**_

Leader:

Crystalstar: silver she-cat with clear blue eyes

Deputy:

Lightningslice: tom, gold pelt, green eyes

Medicine cat:

Rosesky: tabby she-cat, amber eyes

Warriors: (toms and she-cats without kits)

Strikespirit: dark brown tabby tom (Apprentice: Flamepaw, a fiery orange tom)

Echoflower: she-cat with a smoky gray pelt

Deerspring: reddish brown tom Apprentice: Larkpaw, a golden-brown she-cat

Grasstail: dark ginger she-cat

Pineclaw: striped hazel furred and electric-blue eyed tom (Apprentice: Birchpaw, a white tom with brown spots)

Birdstrike: short silver-pelted she-cat

Sunfall: ginger furred and sapphire-eyed tom (Apprentice: Flarepaw, a ginger she-cat)

Stormblaze: small gray furred tom with amber underbelly

Whisperwind: (formerly a kittypet named Zeltia) white she-cat

Ripplestalk: short dark hazel pelted tom (Apprentice: Lappingpaw, a bluish-gray she-cat with amber eyes)

Azurelight: a bluish-gray pelted tom with startling blue eyes (Apprentice: Silverpaw, a silver tom with green eyes)

Splashcloud: white and gray striped tom, amber eyes

Mudflight: brown pelted tom

Honeystorm: she-cat, golden-brown pelt, emerald eyes (Apprentice: Aquapaw, a bluish-gray tom)

Hailcreep: white pelted tom who has blue eyes

Chasefire: fluffy amber-pelted and green-eyed tom

Queens: (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Ivylake: tan she-cat with jade-green eyes and white underbelly

Trillleap: greyish tabby pelted she-cat: Mother to Acornkit, a brown tom, and Leapkit, a striped she-cat

Lillywing: has fluffy tan fur and lillypad-green eyes: Mother to Floodkit, a yellow tom, Petalkit, a white she-cat, and Owlkit, a gray tom

Elders: (former queens and warriors, now retired)

Reedfall: light cream-colored tabby tom

Pearlsmoke: cinnamon pelted and amber eyed she-cat

Firepool: lithe red furred tom


	3. Prologue

Prologue

"You've got some nerve, Yellowfang, bringing me here. Out of the Forgotten Isles. Into StarClan."

"If you don't want your Clan to be part of this current prophecy, you can always whisk yourself out of StarClan and go back to your cozy den in the Isles."

The tabby sighed. "Fine. What's this prophecy stuff about now?" he asked.

A new cat padded out of the bushes behind them. "Why should we tell him?" he said. "Breaking Dawn never did me any good anyway."

"Clear Sky," mewed Yellowfang, "DawnClan needs to know. They will fall if this prophecy doesn't get to them."

"But what about the Tribe of- "

"They need to know too," Yellowfang interupted.

"So we will give the Clans and the Tribe this... this prophecy?" asked Breaking Dawn.

"Yes. Yes we will," answered Yellowfang.

"Dawn and dawn will join again. They will find the third, and light the fire for the stars," meowed Clear Sky.

Breaking Dawn snorted. "That's your prophecy?" he scorned. "It doesn't make any sense!"

"Most prophecies don't make sense at first," Yellowfang pointed out dryly. "Back to the point. Will you give this prophecy to DawnClan?"

"…Fine…"

"Then it's settled. We'll tell them," said Yellowfang.

The three cats faded into specks of stars. Then they disappeared altogether, leaving no trace of their future-changing meeting but a sweet scent with a hint of smoke.


	4. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Come on, you lazy slug! You're missing all the- oof whaaaat?"

"Don't call me a slug!"

"Ow! Get off me!"

"You started it!"

Two kits tussled in the dirt, making it look like a sandstorm had struck. Their mother, a tan she-cat, watched them cautiously as they play-fought in the dust.

"Flamekit! Come on!" exclaimed the smallest kit, whose name was Silverkit.

"Where's Flamekit?" asked the second kit. "Have you seen him?"

Suddenly the bushes rustled, and out exploded a streak of orange fur. Silverkit barely had time to mew "whaaa?" before Flamekit tackled him and bowled him over. A muffled meow sounded from beneath Flamekit. "Birchkit! Help me get this big lump off me!"

Flamekit whirled around as Birchkit swiped at him. The orange kit dashed away, rounded a corner, and ran straight into a bramble thicket. Flamekit realized that this was the perfect hiding spot. He thrust himself deeper into the bush. Suddenly he saw a single spark fall from the sky.

He stared as it touched the ground, and suddenly the forest lit up in flames. Flamekit froze in fear, and through the roaring of the fire, he heard a single voice ring out, loud and clear.

"The flames do not burn…"

* * *

"Flamekit? Flamekit, wake up! Flaaaaaamekit!?"

Flamekit stretched and yawned a huge yawn as he sleepily climbed out of his nest of moss and leaves. He pushed the nightmare to the back of his mind and plodded over to the other side of the den.

"Today's the day of your apperentice ceremony!" his mother, Ivylake, mewed to him and his siblings, Birchkit and Silverkit. Birchkit shot up out of his nest, a tuft of fur sticking straight up. Flamekit could barely suppress a mrroww of laughter.

"You look like a hedgehog!" said Flamekit.

"You'd better get fixed up, too, or I'll be as prickly as a hedgehog," said Ivylake, looking up from cleaning Silverkit. "There's no saying what Crystalstar would say if you went to your apprentice ceremony like that !"said Ivylake, indicating with her tail Birchkit's vertical outcrop of fur. She started to groom the fluffy kit's pelt. After she finished the last lick, she cleaned off Flamekit's pelt.

"Now go, kits, and be confident," said Ivylake.

* * *

The clear greenleaf air around Flamekit tingled with excitement as he and his denmates padded out of the nursery and into the clearing. The DawnClan leader, Crystalstar, leaped on ToweringStone as the warriors and elders milled about under its shadow.

"The apprentice ceremony," yowled Crystalstar, "shows that DawnClan is strong! Birchkit, come here please."

Instantly Birchkit dashed into the center of the clearing, but despite Ivylake's best efforts, his tuft of fur was sticking straight up again.

"From this day onward, this kit will be known as Birchpaw. Pineclaw, you will be his mentor. You have shown great courage and dedication to your Clan; and I trust that you will pass on these traits to your apprentice."

Birchpaw dashed across the camp to touch noses with his new mentor excitedly. Crystalstar beckoned with her tail to Silverkit, who came bouncing into the center of the clearing.

"From this day forward, this cat shall be known as Silverpaw," said Crystalstar. "Azurelight, you will be his mentor. You have served your Clan well, and I hope your apprentice will too."

Silverpaw bounded across the camp to Azurelight, who lowered his head to touch noses with her apprentice.

"And Flamekit. Strikespirit, you will be his mentor. You are strong and loyal; and I know you will pass these qualities on to this apprentice. Now he shall be known as Flamepaw."

Flamepaw rushed across the center clearing to touch noses with his mentor as his Clan chanted his, Birchpaw's, and Silverpaw's names to the stars.

"Flamepaw! Flamepaw! Birchpaw! Birchpaw! Silverpaw! Silverpaw!" yowled the Clan.

Flamepaw blushed from all the attention as his Clan chanted their new names, and saw his father, Splashcloud, weaving through the throng of yowling cats toward him, his littermates, and their mentors.

"I'm so proud of you," his father purred as the chanting died away. "You have such amazing mentors! I know that someday you'll be as brave and as strong as your mentors themselves."

"I'm sure we'll make you three the best warriors you can be," said Pineclaw. "Now, let's have a tour of the territory, shall we?"


	5. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Great!' squeaked Silverpaw. "Will we get to see the training clearing, and the big pool that Splashcloud told us about, and the-"

"Would you rather spend your time talking or seeing these things for real?" interrupted Strikespirit. "Come on! Let's go!" he called, already bounding out of the clearing and into the exit cave.

"I'm so excited!" whispered Flamepaw to his siblings as they slowed when they reached the end of the exit cavern. "This is my first time out of camp!"

"It's so big! I didn't think the world had this many trees in it!" gushed Birchpaw.

"What you are seeing right now is only a small part of our territory," mewed Azurelight, who was already up ahead. "Just wait till you see the view from up on the mountainside."

The three newly named apprentices followed Azurelight, Strikespirit, and Pineclaw as they rounded a sharp bend and stopped at the edge of a large pool. Silverpaw leaped in.

"I want to try to catch some fish!" he mewed. "Do you think I'll get any?"

"Not with the amount of racket you're making," Flamepaw teased.

Silverpaw gasped in mock indignation. "Racket?! You dare call my best fishing move racket ?" He jumped on Flamepaw, rolling him over onto his back and pummeling him with sheathed forepaws.

"Flamepaw! Silverpaw! That's enough!" exclaimed Strikespirit. "Do you think you're still kits?"

"Technically, we were kits this sunrise," muttered Birchpaw.

"Okay, let's go," said Pineclaw curtly, who splashed right through the pool, beckoning to the rest of the patrol to follow.

Flamepaw was amazed at how big the territory seemed outside the dens of DawnClan. And I thought the camp was huge, he thought. He lept over a fallen branch and nearly ran right into Birchtail.

"Watch it!" exclaimed Birchpaw.

"Sorry," muttered Flamepaw.

"This is the training clearing," meowed Azurelight. "Apprentices practice battle moves here. Rosesky gathers marigold and goldenrod here too."

"Can we practice fighting moves now?" mewed Birchpaw excitedly.

"Not now, sorry," answered Strikespirit. "But we can try hunting after we see the territory if you're not tired. I expect that you won't be though," he added, noting Silverpaw, who was leaping around trying to bat an oak leaf out of the sky.

"So let's go!" yowled Flamepaw, and dashed out of the clearing, with the patrol hot on his heels.

* * *

Flamepaw's pads hurt from the throrn he had stepped on near the mountianside overlook as he plodded back to the camp tiredly. All he wanted to do was curl up in the appren-tice's den and sleep until next sunhigh. But Birchpaw didn't seem to be so tired.

He and Silverpaw kept pestering Strikespirit about hunting until he had finally agreed. Silverpaw had tried first but Flamepaw had accidentally stepped on a twig, snapping it and scaring away the vole he attempted to catch.

What kind of warrior scares away his own Clanmates' catches? he thought. What if I can't even catch my own prey?

"Flamepaw, you're up next," mewed Azurelight. "Remember, step lightly, and take all your weight into your haunches," he added.

Flamepaw sniffed the air, and dropped into the hunter's crouch when he scented a sparrow foraging for food in a nearby thicket. As he started to creep forward, a bird flew out of a gnarled tree, sounding an alarm call. Flamepaw froze.

Please don't fly away, he prayed. I've messed up so much already! He tensed, then relaxed. The sparrow was picking at the seeds under the thicket again. He crept forward, hardly daring to breathe.

Three tail-lengths, two tail-lengths, then one. Flamepaw lept onto the sparrow, killing it with a sharp bite. He felt a wave of relief and pride wash over him.

"Well done!" praised Strikespirit. "I've never heard of an apprentice who caught prey on their first try!" he mewed.

"Yeah, great catch!" exclaimed Silverpaw.

"You aren't mad at me for scareing away your catch?" asked Flamepaw, surprised.

"Nobody can stay angry with you for long, mousebrain," joked Silverpaw.

"Birchpaw, your turn," meowed Pineclaw. "Let's try hunting by the stream, okay?"

Maybe I won't be such a bad warrior after all, Flamepaw thought as he padded in the direction of the stream with the sparrow hanging from his mouth, his tail and his spirits high.

* * *

The wail of a mother.

Weeping for her kit.

Who was now killed, just like that.

RiverClan moves to comfort her.

Snowpaw… was gone.

Or so she thinks.


	6. Chapter 3

Chapter Three 

"Where do we sleep?" asked Flamepaw.

He was back in camp, in the apprentice's den, and he was pleasantly surprised that it was slightly bigger than the nursery.

"You can sleep anywhere you like," said a golden-brown she-cat, who lifted her head from the mouse she was eating. "You're Flamepaw, right?"

Flamepaw nodded as he picked out a nest in the middle of the den. Birchpaw and Silverpaw followed suit.

"I'm Larkpaw, and this is Aquapaw, right here." She used her tail to indicate a bluish grey tom resting in a nest right next to Flamepaw's newly selected one.

"Hey," meowed Flamepaw to the blue tom.

He received no reply except for a grunt.

"He is sort of a furball," whispered Larkpaw to Flamepaw.

"I am not !" came the muffled reply from the nest of moss and leaves. " Just that Honeystorm made me hunt from sunhigh to sundown. But I only caught, umm, three mice, two voles, two blackbirds, and a squirrel."

Flamepaw gasped. "Only!? I can only dream of catching that much prey!"

"That's what I thought, too!" exclaimed Aquapaw. "Lappingpaw, who was paired with me, couldn't believe how much prey I caught, even though we were hunting for so long. But not Honeystorm.

"Tough luck," mewed Birchpaw sympathetically. "I'm tired out too," he added and promptly collapsed into his nest.

Everyone else promptly agreed.

* * *

Author's note:

Sorry about the the recent corruptions (No idea what was going on...) and the short chapter. Kinda stuck now... could you pm me or comment to give me ideas?

Thanks!

-flamewind123456


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